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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Honestly, I have been sitting trying to figure out what
information I could bring to you my wonderful readers this week.A recipe was my first thought, but then I ran
off and left it on my desk which does not help me much since that is three
hours away.Next, I decided to research
Thanksgiving during WWII.In the midst
of research I remembered that today, November 26th, is the 71st
anniversary of the release of one of my favorite films of all time, Casablanca.

The initial release of the film was set for spring 1943;
however, it premiered in New York City on November 26, 1942.Timing of the release was changed to coincide
with the Allied invasion into North Africa and the capture of Casablanca.The film went into general release on January
23, 1943 (taking advantage of the Casablanca Conference).Receiving consistently good reviews, the film
became the seventh highest grossing film of 1943.Screening of the film was prevented by the
Office of War Information to troops in North Africa, believing it may cause
resentment among Vichy supporters in the region.

Bosley Crowther of The
New York Times wrote, “The Warners…have a picture which makes the spine
tingle and the heart take a leap.”If
you have seen the film, you know the twists and turns the directors take you on
as you meet the varied clientele of Rick’s Café Américain in Vichy-controlled
Casablanca.American Rick Blaine, played
by Humphrey Bogart, is the bitter owner of the nightclub and gambling den in
Casablanca where much of the action takes place.Ilsa Lund, played by Ingrid Bergman, walks in
searching for Rick, her former love, to help her husband Czech Resistance
leader Victor Laszlo, played by Paul Henreid.Rick is placed in the difficult position of choosing his love for Ilsa
or helping Victor escape from Casablanca to continue his fight against the
Nazis.

In the end, Rick works to ensure that Victor will be successful in his mission - ending the film by walking away with Louis, a police captain in Casablanca, with the iconic words "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship."

If you have never seen this classic, you should check it
out.For the 70th Anniversary
next year, we will be having a viewing of Casablanca on the evening of June 6th.We will be putting up more details in the
coming months about this event and all events planned for the 70th
anniversary.For more information, check
out our 70th Anniversary event tab on our website regularly!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

This month we celebrate Native
American Heritage Month by looking at code talkers of World War II,
specifically the men of the Comanche Tribe.In December 1940, seventeen Comanche were recruited by the US Army to
become code talkers.These men were
assigned to the 4th Signal Company of the 4th Infantry
Division at Fort Benning, Georgia.Here
they received phone, radio, Morse code, and semaphore training.

In August 1941 these
seventeen men were placed under Lt. Hugh F. Foster to develop an unbreakable
Comanche-language code.Foster provided
the men with 250 specialized military terms for which they needed to develop
coded equivalents.Combined with
standard Comanche, coded terms were developed.Here are some examples of those coded terms:

Tutsahkuna’ tawo’i’meaning “sewing machine gun” for “machine gun,”

Wakaree’emeaning “turtle” for “tanks,”

Po’sa taiboo’meaning “Crazy White Man” for “Hitler.”

Comanche Code Talker completed
their training on 30 October 1941, and shortly thereafter went to Louisiana to
conduct field exercises.It took a
military machine up to four hours to transmit and decode a message; however, a
Comanche Code Talker could decode the same message in under three minutes.

Comanche Code Talkers, Ft. Benning, Georgia

Fourteen of the men who
had trained were sent to the European Theater with the 4th Infantry
Division.On 6 June 1944, thirteen
Comanche Code Talkers hit the Utah Beach with Allied Troops.When they landed, they were five miles off
their designated target.The first
message sent from the beach was sent in Comanche from PFC Larry Saupitty and
translated to “We made a good landing.We landed in the wrong place.”

Comanche Code Talkers, Ft. Benning (National Archives)

Maintaining wire telephone
lines and sending secure messages via field phone and radio, the Comanche Code
Talkers served in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany.They served in important battles such as at
Cherbourg, St. Lo, Paris, the Siegfried Line, the Huertgen Forest, and
Bastogne.Several men were wounded
during the course of the war, but all made it home.Their code, like that of the Navajos in the
Pacific, was never broken.

On November 3, 1989, the
French government and the State of Oklahoma bestowed the Chevalier de L’Order
National de Merite (Knight of the Order of National Merit), to three
then-surviving members of the Comanche Code Talkers (Cpl. Charles Chibitty, Cpl.
Forrest Kassanavoid, and Pfc. Roderick Red Elk) at the Oklahoma State Capitol. To learn more, visit the website for the Comanche National Museum.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

John Robert Slaughter Portrait Bust Campaign

The National D-Day Memorial Foundation’s campaign to honor the legacy of the founding chairman, John Robert Slaughter.

The
National D-Day Memorial Foundation has launched a campaign to honor our
dear friend and founder John Robert Slaughter. Bob Slaughter brought
the same energy, tenacity, and drive to the creation of the D-Day
Memorial that he displayed so many years ago on Omaha Beach, and
throughout the war.

Mr.
Slaughter entered the service in 1940 at the tender age of 15 (after
convincing his parents that he wanted to join the National Guard and
earn extra money for household expenses). By the age of 19, he found
himself engaged in the largest amphibious assault in history on the
beaches of Normandy, France. Bob served with Company D, 116th Infantry
Regiment, 29th Division. Company D was a heavy weapons company that
supported rifle companies in combat. Slaughter was wounded twice while
in France and was discharged in July 1945 at which point he returned to
his home in Roanoke, Virginia. He married in 1947, and he and his wife
Margaret had two children. Over the years, however, memories of what
took place on that stretch of sand in Normandy continued to haunt him.

In 1987,
Bob Slaughter declared “We have no gathering place, no meeting hall, no
memorial, where our country can collect its memories and the lessons we
learned from D-Day.” Shortly thereafter, Slaughter, along with several
other supporters, formed a committee to raise money and search for an
appropriate location for a small memorial.

Slaughter, far left, with President Clinton in Normandy

After
visiting Normandy on several occasions, the vision for a memorial took
shape and in 1989, Slaughter’s small committee introduced a
seventeen-member board of directors. The committee faced a series of
challenges and a discouraged board was near disbandment when a
resurgence of interest in D-Day, due to the 50th anniversary in 1994,
led to increased publicity and new momentum.

Shortly
thereafter, Bedford City officials donated eleven acres of land to the
D-Day Foundation for the site of the proposed memorial and an additional
seventy-seven acres was purchased by the Foundation to protect the site
from further development.

Mr.
Slaughter served as the Foundation’s Chairman from 1994-2001. Congress
also adopted legislation designating the site a national memorial in
1994. The Foundation hired its first employee in 1996 and the Memorial
was officially dedicated by President George W. Bush on 6 June 2001.

Plaque outside the Youth Learning Center at the Memorial

In 2007,
Bob authored Omaha Beach and Beyond, an auto-biography, chronicling his
wartime experience and the creation of the Memorial. In 2008,
The John Robert Slaughter Youth Learning Center (an authentic military
hands-on history tent) was dedicated at the Memorial. That area has
always been and continues to be the hub of the Foundation’s education
initiatives.

Bob
Slaughter was a very special man and one who was respected and admired.
In his book in 2007, Bob noted “Now that I am in my eighties, I am well
aware that the long march that began so many years ago is about to come
to a halt. I am proud to say my generation helped save the world from
tyranny, prevent the extinction of an entire group of people, and
preserve the democratic freedoms of our wonderful American way of life.
I wouldn’t change a thing, except to wish that my dear army buddies
could be here to see and touch the magnificent National D-Day Memorial
that was built for us all.”

Slaughter with President Bush at the Memorial Dedication

While Bob
is deeply missed, his legacy is preserved in perpetuity at the National
D-Day Memorial. We look forward to raising funds for the bust and
accompanying plaque that will tell his story.

How You Can Help? Spread the Word! Make a donation or encourage others to donate.

Lastly, I would like to say thank you to everyone who came out yesterday to honor our nation's veterans. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful ceremony as we came together to honor the servicemen and women who defend and protect our country.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

How did Veterans Day Observances begin? When the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, World War I, or "The Great War," officially came to an end. However, fighting had actually ceased seven months prior when an armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For this reason, November 11, 1918 is regarded as the end of the "war to end all wars."

A year after the armistice, in November 1919, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."

Originally Armistice Day observances were celebrated with parades and public meetings. Business would not begin until 11am. Congress officially recognized the end of "The Great War" when it passed a resolution on June 4, 1926 marking November 11, 1918 as the official end of the war. An Act, approved May 13, 1938, made this day a legal holiday each year. November 11 would be "a day dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'."

World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, and airmen in our nation's history; and after American forces had fought in Korea, Congress, at the urging of veteran service organizations, amended the Act establishing Armistice Day. On June 1, 1954, the word "Armistice" was replaced with "Veterans." November 11 was now established as the day to honor American veterans of all wars.
So, join us at 11am on November 11, 2013 to honor all who have served in
the US Armed Forces. The program will include guest speakers, music,
and recognition of all veterans. Free admission will be offered from
10am to Noon.

The National D-Day Memorialis run by a private, non-profit educational foundation in Bedford, Virginia that seeks to preserve the lessons and legacy of D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Meet Maggie

About Me

I work as the Education Coordinator for the National D-Day Memorial planning a variety of family-friendly programs for students of all ages. It is my passion to present history in a way that is fun and engaging.